Here’s some music that various members of the Prog team have been grooving to this week…
EDITOR - JERRY EWING
VOYAGER - SEASONS OF AGE Hailing from the same part of the world, it’s with a huge sense of pride that I’ve watched the Australian progressive music scene develop with aplomb over recent years. Perth’s Voyager are one of the best, and it was great to see them venture to these shores to play a blinding show at London’s Barfly venue last year. Latest album V, from which this is taken, is a great record. It’s my belief they really could go far…
DEPUTY EDITOR - HANNAH MAY KILROY
MAGMA - KÖHNTARKÖSZ
ART EDITOR - RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER
MY SLEEPING KARMA - MOKSHA If you didn’t think ambient music could have a visceral element to it then take a listen to this track Moshka from German ‘instrumental groove rockers’ My Sleeping Karma. Take a simple piano motif, intersperse with teutonic power chords and revel in the an ever-changing mood structure that never fails to intrigue and delight.
NEWS EDITOR - NATASHA SCHARF
VENNART - OPERATE The second song from former Oceansize frontman Mike Vennart’s latest project is a good ‘un! I love the vocal melodies and the uplifting chorus - Operate edges towards pop territory but it’s got enough quirks to keep things very interesting. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to cause some serious arm-waving when Vennart play ArcTanGent Festival in August! The debut album The Demon Joke will be out through Superball Music on 22 June.
REVIEWS EDITOR - GRANT MOON
MEW - STAELLITE The Danes return with their excellent new album +-, replete with highly intelligent other-pop like Satellites. And if you never really considered them prog, just have a listen to the none-more-neo transition from verse to chorus (around the 1min 33 sec mark). Upbeat highlights like this abound, but if you can seek out closing track Cross The River On Your Own - that one’ll break your bloody heart.
WRITER - MIKE BARNES
SPIRO - BURNING BRIDGES I saw this group just last week in a small venue in that legendary rock’n’roll hub, Basingstoke, and was knocked back by their complex, mesmeric and beautifully arranged music, which seems to sit somewhere between folk rock and the exultant dancing rhythms of American minimalist Steve Reich. Their new album, Welcome Joy And Welcome Sorrow, makes perfect listening with summer almost upon us.
LIMELIGHT BAND
ETIENNE JAUMET - LA VISITE
One half of the French electro prog duo Zombie Zombie, Jaumet is also a solo artist in his own right._ La Visite_ is the title track from his second solo album. Greg Moiffitt describes him as “progressive synth pop meets twilight techno and a saxophone”. See if you agree…
